
Qass. 
Book 



/ 



RESEARCHES ^b^'f 



IN 



THE PHENOMENA 



OP 



SPIRITUALISM 



BY 



^ 



WILLIAM CROOK ES, KR.S. 
n 



'S 



[Reprinted from The Quarterly Journal of Science.] 




LONDON: 
J. BURNS, 15 SOUTHAMPTON ROW, HOLBORN, W.C. 

1874. 






^A^ 



<\' 



\ 



GLASGOW: 

H. NISBET, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER, 

219 GEORGE STREET. 



SPIRITUALISM 



VIEWED BY THE 



LIGHT OF MODERN SCIENCE 



Some weeks ago the fact that I was engaged in investiga- 
ting Spirituali"sm, so called, was announced in a contem- 
porary:* and in consequence of the many communications 
I have since received, I think it desirable to say a little 
concerning the investigation which I have commenced. 
Views or opinions I cannot be said to possess on a subject 
which I do not pretend to understand. I consider it the 
duty of scientific men who have learnt exact modes of work- 
ing, to examine phenomena which attract the attention of 
the public, in order to confirm their genuineness, or to 
explain, if possible, the delusions of the honest and to 
expose the tricks of deceivers. But I think it a pity that 
any public announcement of a man's investigation should 
be made until he has shown himself willing to speak but. 

A man may be a true scientific man, and yet agree with 
Professor De Morgan, when he says — "I have both seen 
and heard, in a manner which would make unbelief impos- 
sible, things called spiritual, which cannot be taken by a 
rational being to be capable of explanation by imposture, 
coincidence, or mistake. So far I feel the ground firm 
under me ; but when it comes to what is the cause of these 
phenomena, I find I cannot adopt any explanation which 
has yet been suggested. . . . The physical explana- 
tions which I have seen are easy, but miserably insufficient. 
The spiritual hypothesis is sufficient, but ponderously diffi- 
cult." 

Regarding the sufficiency of the explanation, I am not 
able to speak. That certain physical phenomena, such as 
the movement of material substances, and the production 
of sounds resembling electric discharges, occur under cir- 

* The AthencBum. 



4 Spiritualism Viewed by the 

cumstances in which they cannot be explained by any 
physical law at present known, is a fact of which I am as 
certain as I am of the most elementary fact in chemistry. 
My whole scientific education has been one long lesson in- 
exactness of observation, and I wish it to be distinctly 
understood that this firm conviction is the result of most 
careful investigation. But I cannot, at present, hazard even 
the most vague hypothesis as to the cause of the pheno- 
mena. Hitherto I have seen nothing to convince me of the 
truth of the "spiritual" theory. In such an inquiry the 
intellect demands that the spiritual proof must be abso- 
lutely incapable of being explained away; it must be so 
strikingly and convincingly true that we cannot, dare not 
deny it. 

Faraday says, " Before we proceed to consider any ques- 
tion involving physical principles, we should set out with 
clear ideas of the naturally possible and impossible." But 
this appears like reasoning in a circle : we are to investigate 
nothing till we know it to be possible, whilst we cannot say 
what is impossible^ outside pure mathematics, till we know 
everything. 

In the present case I prefer to enter upon the enquiry 
with no preconceived notions whatever as to what can or 
cannot be, but with all my senses alert and ready to convey 
information to the brain ; believing, as I do, that we have 
by no means exhausted all human knowledge or fathomed 
the depths of all the physical forces, and remembering that 
the great philosopher already quoted said, in reference to 
some speculations on the gravitating force, " Nothing is too 
wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of 
nature; and in such things as these, experiment is the best 
test of such consistency." 

The modes of reasoning of scientific men appear to be 
generally misunderstood by spiritualists with whom I have 
conversed, and the reluctance of the trained scientific mind 
to investigate this subject is frequently ascribed to unworthy 
motives. I think, therefore, it will be of service if I here 
illustrate the modes of thought current amongst those who 
investigate science, and say what kind of experimental 
proof science has a right to demand before admitting a new 
department of knowledge into her ranks. We must not 
mix up the exact and the inexact. The supremacy of 
accuracy must be absolute. 

The first requisite is to be sure of facts ; then to ascertain 
conditions ; next, laws. Accuracy and knowledge of detail 
stand foremost amongst the great aims of modern scientific 



Light of Modern Science. 5 

men. No observations are of much use to the student of 
science unless they are truthful and made under test condi- 
tions; and here I find the great mass of spiritualistic evi- 
dence to fail. In a subject which, perhaps, more than any- 
other lends itself to trickery and deception, the precautions 
against fraud appear to have been, in most cases, totally 
insufficient, owing, it would seem, to an erroneous idea that 
to ask for such safeguards was to imply a suspicion of the 
honesty of some one present. We may use our own unaided 
senses, but when we ask for instrumental means to increase 
their sharpness, certainty, and trustworthiness under cir- 
cumstances of excitement and difficulty, and when one's 
natural senses are liable to be thrown off their balance, 
offence is taken. 

In the countless number of recorded observations I have 
read, there appear to be few instances of meetings held for 
the express purpose of getting the phenomena under test 
conditions, in the presence of persons properly qualified by 
scientific training to weigh and adjust the value of the 
evidence which might present itself The only good series 
of test experiments I have met with were tried by the Count 
de Gasparin, and he, whilst admitting the genuineness of 
the phenomena, came to the conclusion that they were not 
due to supernatural agency. 

The pseudo-scientific spiritualist professes to know every- 
thing: no calculations trouble his serenity, no hard experi- 
ments, no long laborious readings; no weary attempts to 
make clear in words that which has rejoiced the heart and 
elevated the mind. He talks glibly of all sciences and arts, 
overwhelming the enquirer with terms like " electro-biolo- 
gize," "psychologize," "animal magnetism," &c. — a mere 
play upon words, showing ignorance rather than under- 
standing. 'Popular science such as this is little able to guide 
discovery rushing onwards to an unknown future; and the 
real workers of science must be extremely careful not to 
allow the reins to get into unfit and incompetent hands. 

In investigations which so completely baffle the ordinary 
observer, the thorough scientific man has a great advantage. 
He has followed science from the beginning through a long 
line of learning, and he knows, therefore, in what direction 
it is leading; he knows that there are dangers on one side, 
uncertainties on another, and almost- absolute certainty on 
a third : he sees to a certain extent in advance. But, where 
every step is towards the marvellous and unexpected, pre- 
cautions and tests should be multiplied rather than dimin- 
ished. Investigators must work; although their work may 



6 Spiritualism Viewed by the 

be very small in quantity if only compensation be made by 
its intrinsic excellence. But, even in this realm of mar- 
vels, — this wonder-land towards which scientific enquiry is 
sending out its pioneers, — can anything be more astonish- 
ing than the delicacy of the instrumental aids which the 
workers bring with them to supplement the observations of 
their natural senses? 

The spiritualist tells of bodies weighing 50 or 100 lbs. 
being lifted up into the air without the intervention of any 
known force ; but the scientific chemist is accustomed to use 
a balance which will render sensible a weight so small that 
it would take ten thousand of them to weigh one grain ; he 
is, therefore, justified in asking that a power, professing to 
be guided by intelligence, which will toss a heavy body up 
to the ceiling, shall also cause his delicately-poised balance 
to move under test conditions. 

The spiritualist tells of tapping sounds which are pro- 
duced in different parts of a room when two or more per- 
sons sit quietly round a table. The scientific experimenter 
is entitled to ask that these taps shall be produced on the 
stretched membrane of his phonautograph. 

The spiritualist tells of rooms and houses being shaken, 
even to injury, by superhuman power. The man of science 
merely asks for a pendulum to be set vibrating when it is in 
a glass case and supported on solid masonry. 

The spiritualist tells of heavy articles of furniture moving 
from one room to another without human agency. But the 
man of science has made instruments which will divide an 
inch into a million parts; and he is justified in doubting the 
accuracy of the former observations, if the same force is 
powerless to move the index of his instrument one poor 
degree. 

The spiritualist tells of flowers with the fresh dew on 
them, of fruit, and living objects being carried through 
closed windows, and even solid brick-walls. The scientific 
investigator naturally asks that an additional weight (if it 
be only the 1 000th part of a grain) be deposited on one pan 
of his balance when the case is locked. And the chemist 
asks for the 1 000th of a grain of arsenic to be carried through 
the sides of a glass tube in which pure water is hermetically 
sealed. 

The spiritualist tells of manifestations of power, which 
would be equivalent to many thousands of " foot-pounds," 
taking place without known agency. The man of science, 
believing firmly in the conservation of force, and that it is' 
never produced without a corresponding exhaustion of 



Light of Modern Science. 7 

something to replace it, asks for some such exhibitions of 
power to be manifested in his laboratory, where, he can 
weigh, measure, and submit it to proper tests.* 

For these reasons and with these feelings I began an 
inquiry suggested to me by eminent men exercising great 
influence on the thought of the country. At first, like other 
men who thought little of the matter and saw little, I 
believed that the whole affair was a superstition, or at least 
an unexplained trick. Even at this moment I meet with 
cases which I cdxmot prove \.o be anything else; and in some 
cases I am sure that it is a delusion of the senses. 

I by no means promise to enter fully into this subject ; 
it seems very difficult to obtain opportunities, and numerous 
failures certainly may dishearten anyone. The persons in 
whose presence these phenomena take place are few in num- 
ber, and opportunities for experimenting with previously 
arranged apparatus are rarer still. I should feel it to be a 
great satisfaction if I could bring out light in any direction, 
and I may safely say that I care not in what direction. 
With this end in view, I appeal to any of my readers who 
may possess a key to these strange phenomena, to further 
the progress of the truth by assisting me in my investiga- 
tions. That the subject has to do with strange physiological 
conditions is clear, and these in a sense may be called 
" spiritual " when they produce certain results in our minds. 
At present the phenomena I have observed baffle explana^ 
tion ; so do the phenomena of thought, which are also 
spiritual, and which no philosopher has yet understood. No 
man, however, denies them. 

The explanations given to me, both orally and in most of 
the books I have read, are shrouded in such an affected pon- 
derosity of style, such an attempt at disguising poverty of 
ideas in grandiloquent language, that I feel it impossible, 
after driving off the frothy diluent, to discern a crystalline 
residue of meaning. I confess that the reasoning of some 
spiritualists would almost seem to justify Faraday's severe 
statement — that many dogs have the power of coming to 
much more logical conclusions. Their speculations utterly 
ignore all theories of force being only a form of molecular 
motion, and they speak of Force, Matter, and Spirit, as 

* In justice to my subject, I must state that, on repeating these views to 
some of the leading "spiritualists " and most trustworthy ** mediums " in Eng- 
land, they express perfect confidence in the success of the enquiry, if honestly 
carried out in the spirit here exemplified ; and they have offered to assist me to 
the utmost of their ability, by placing their peculiar powers at my disposal. As 
far as I have proceeded, I may as well add that the preliminary tests have been 
satisfactory. 



8 Spiritualism Viewed by the Light of Modern Science. 

three distinct entities, each capable of existing without the 
others ; although they sometimes admit that they are mu- 
tually convertible. 

These spiritualists are certainly not much in advance of 
an alchemical writer, who says — 

" I asked Philosophy how I should 
Have of her the thing I would. 
She answered me when I was able 
To make the water malliable, 
Or else the way if I could finde, 
To measure out a yard of winde ; 
Theu shalt thou have thine own desire. 
When thou canst weigh an ounce of Fire ; 
Unless that thou canst do these three, 
Content thyselfe, thou get'st not me. " 

It has been my wish to show that science is gradually 
making its followers the representatives of care and accuracy. 
It is a fine quality that of uttering undeniable truth. Let, 
then, that position not be lowered, but let words suit facts 
with an accuracy equal to that with which the facts them- 
selves can be ascertained ; and in a subject encrusted with 
credulity and superstition, let it be shown that there is a 
class of facts to be found upon which reliance can be placed, 
so far, that we may be certain they will never change. In 
common affairs a mistake may have but a short life, but in 
the study of nature an imperfect observation may cause 
infinite trouble to thousands. The increased employment 
of scientific methods will promote exact observation and 
greater love of truth among enquirers, and will produce a 
race of observers who will drive the worthless residuum of 
spiritualism hence into the unknown limbo of magic and 
necromancy. 

If spiritualists would but attend to the teachings of their 
own prophets, they would no longer have to complain of 
the hostile attitude of Science ; for hear what Thomas L. 
Harris urges, in his " Lyric of a Golden Age !" 

*' The nearer to the practical men keep — 
The less they deal in vague and abstract things 
The less they deal in huge mysterious words — 
The mightier is their power. 

The simplest peasant who observes a truth, 
And from a fact deduces principle. 
Adds solid treasure to the public wealth. 
The theorist, who dreams a rainbow dream, 
And calls hypothesis philosophy, 
At best is but a paper financier, 
Who palms his specious promises for gold. 
Facts are the basis of philosophy j 
Philosophy the harmony of facts 
Seen in their right relation. 



[From the ''Quarterly Journal of Science," July i, 1871.] 



EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF A 
NEW FORCE, 



TWELVE months ago in this journal* I wrote an article, 
in which, after expressing in the most emphatic 
manner my belief in the occurrence, under certain circum- 
stances, of phenomena inexplicable by any known natural 
laws, I indicated several tests which men of science had a 
right to demand before giving credence to the genuineness 
of these phenomena. Among the tests pointed out were, 
that a " delicately poised balance should be moved under 
test conditions;" and that some exhibition of power equi- 
valent to so many "foot-pounds" should be "manifested 
in his laboratory, where the experimentalist could weigh, 
measure, and submit it to proper tests." I said, too, that 
I could not promise to enter fully into this subject, owing 
to the difficulties of obtaining opportunities, and the nume- 
rous failures attending the enquiry; moreover, that "the 
persons in whose presence these phenomena take place are 
few in number, and opportunities for experimenting with 
previously arranged apparatus are rarer still." 

Opportunities having since offered for pursuing the investi- 
gation, I have gladly availed myself of them for applying to 
these phenomena careful scientific testing experiments, and 
I have thus arrived at certain definite results which I think 
it right should be published. These experiments appear con- 
clusively to establish the existence of a new force, in some 
unknown manner connected with the human organisation, 
which for convenience may be called the Psychic Force. 

Of all the persons endowed with a powerful development of 
this Psychic Force, and who have been termed " mediums " 
upon quite another theory of its origin, Mr. Daniel Dunglas 
Home is the most remarkable, and it is mainly owing to 

* See Quarterly Journal of Science, vol. vii., p. 316, July, 1870. 



lO Experimental Investigation 

the many opportunities I have had of carrying on my 
investigation in his presence that I am enabled to affirm 
so conclusively the existence of this Force. The experi- 
ments I have tried have been very numerous, but owing to 
our imperfect knowledge of the conditions which favour or 
oppose the manifestations of this force, to the apparently 
capricious manner in which it is exerted, and to the fact 
that Mr. Home himself is subject to unaccountable ebbs 
and flows of the force, it has but seldom happened that a 
result obtained on one occasion could be subsequently con- 
firmed and tested with apparatus specially contrived for the 
purpose. 

Among the remarkable phenomena which occur under 
Mr. Home's influence, the most striking, as well as the 
most easily tested with scientific accuracy, are — (i) the 
alteration in the weight of bodies, and (2) the playing of 
tunes upon musical instruments (generally an accordion, for 
convenience of portability) without direct human intervention, 
under conditions rendering contact or connection with the 
keys impossible. Not until I had witnessed these facts some 
half-dozen times, and scrutinised them with all the critical 
acumen I possess, did I become convinced of their objective 
reality. Still, desiring to place the matter beyond the shadow 
of doubt, I invited Mr. Home on several occasions to come 
to my own house, where, in the presence of a few scientific 
enquirers, these phenomena could be submitted to crucial 
experiments. 

The meetings took place in the evening, in a large room 
lighted by gas. The apparatus prepared for the purpose of 
testing the movements of the accordion, consisted of a 
cage, formed of two wooden hoops, respectively i foot 
10 inches and 2 feet diameter, connected together by 12 
narrow laths, each i foot 10 inches long, so as to form a 
drum-shaped frame, open at the top and bottom ; round this 
50 yards of insulated copper wire were wound in 24 rounds, 
each being rather less than an inch from its neighbour. 
These horizontal strands of wire were then netted together 
firmly with string, so as to form meshes rather less than 
2 inches long by i inch high. The height of this cage 
was such that it would just slip under my dining table, but 
be too close to the top to allow of the hand being introduced 
into the interior, or to admit of a foot being pushed under- 
neath it. In another room were two Grove's cells, wires 
being led from them into the dining-room for connection, 
if desirable, with the wire surrounding the cage. 

The accordion was a new one, having been purchased by 



of a New Force. 1 1 

myself for the purpose of these experiments at Wheatstone's, 
in Conduit Street. Mr. Home had neither handled nor 
seen the instrument before the commencement of the test 
experiments. 

In another part of the room an apparatus was fitted up 
for experimenting on the alteration in the weight of a body. 
It consisted of a mahogany board, 36 inches long by 9 J inches 
wide and i inch thick. At each end a strip of mahogany 
\\ inches wide was screwed on, forming feet. One end of 
the board rested on a firm table, whilst the other end was 
supported by a spring balance hanging from a substantial 
tripod stand. The balance was fitted with a self-registering 
index, in such a manner that it would record the maximum 
weight indicated by the pointer. The apparatus was adjusted 
so that the mahogany board was horizontal, its foot resting 
flat on the support. In this position its weight was 3 lbs., 
as marked by the pointer of the balance. 

Before Mr. Home entered the room, the apparatus had 
been arranged in position, and he had not even the object 
of some parts of it explained before sitting down. It may, 
perhaps, be worth while to add, for the purpose of anticipa- 
ting some critical remarks which are likely to be made, that 
in the afternoon I called for Mr. Home at his apartments, 
and when there he suggested that, as he had to change 
his dress, perhaps I should not object to continue our con- 
versation in his bedroom. I am, therefore, enabled to state 
positively, that no machinery, apparatus, or contrivance of 
any sort was secreted about his person. 

The 'investigators present on the test occasion were an 
eminent physicist, high in the ranks of the Royal Society, 
whom I will call Dr. A. B. ; a well-known Serjeant-at-Law, 
whom I will call Serjeant C. D.; my brother; and my 
chemical assistant.* 

Mr. Home sat in a low easy chair at the side of the table. 
In front of him under the table was the aforesaid cage, one 
of his legs being on each side of it. I sat close to him on 
his left, and another observer sat close to him on his right, 
the rest of the party being seated at convenient distances 
round the table. 

* It argues ill for the boasted freedom of opinion among scientific men, that 
they have so long refused to institute a scientific investigation into the 
existence and nature of facts asserted by so many competent and credible 
witnesses, and which they are freely invited to examine when and where they 
please. For my own part, I too much value the pursuit of truth, and the 
discovery of any new fact in nature, to avoid enquiry because it appears to 
clash with prevailing opinions. But as I have no right to assume that others 
are equally willing to do this, I refrain from mentioning the names of my friends 
without their permission. 



12 



Experimental Investigation 



For the greater part of the evening, particularly when any- 
thing of importance was proceeding, the observers on each 
side of Mr. Home kept their feet respectively on his feet, 
so as to be able to detect his slightest movement. 

The temperature of the room varied from 68° to 70° F. 

Mr. Home took the accordion between the thumb and 
middle finger of one hand at the opposite end to the 
keys (see woodcut, Fig. i), (to save repetition this will 
be subsequently called "in the usual manner.") Having 

Fig. I. 




previously opened the bass key myself, and the cage being 
drawn from under the table so as just to allow the accordion 
to be passed in with its keys downwards, it was pushed back 
as close as Mr. Home's arm would permit, but without hiding 
his hand from those next to him (see Fig. 2). Very soon 
the accordion was seen by those on each side to be waving 
about in a somewhat curious manner; then sounds came 
from it, and finally several notes were played in succes- 
sion. Whilst this was going on, my assistant went under 
the table, and reported that the accordion was expanding 
and contracting; at the same time it was seen that the 
hand of Mr. Home by which it was held was quite still, his 
other hand resting on the table. 



of a New Force. 



13 



Presently the accordion was seen by those on either side 
of Mr. Home to move about, oscillating and going round 
and round the cage, and playing at the same time. Dr. 
A. B. now looked under the table, and said that Mr. Home's 
hand appeared quite still whilst the accordion was rhoving 
about emitting distinct sounds. 

Mr. Home still holding the accordion in the usual 
manner in the cage, his feet being held by those next him, 
and his other hand resting on the table, we heard distinct and 
separate notes sounded in succession, and then a simple air 

Fig. 2. 




was played. As such a result could only have been pro- 
duced by the various keys of the instrument being acted 
upon in harmonious succession, this was considered by 
those present to be a crucial experiment. But the sequel 
was still more striking, for Mr. Home then removed his 
hand altogether from the accordion, taking it quite out of 
the cage, and placed it in the hand of the person next to 
him. The instrument then continued to play, no person 
touching it and no hand being near it. 

I was now desirous of trying what would be the effect of 
passing the battery current round the insulated wire of the 



14 Experimental Investigation 

cage, and my assistant accordingly made the connection 
with the wires from the two Grove's cells. Mr. Home 
again held the instrument inside the cage in the same 
manner as before, when it immediately sounded and moved 
about vigorously. But whether the electric current passing 
round the cage assisted the manifestation of force inside, it 
is impossible to say. 

The accordion was now again taken without any visible 
touch from Mr. Home's hand, which he removed from it 
entirely and placed upon the table, where it was taken by 
the person next to him, and seen, as now were both his 
hands, by all present. I and two of the others present saw 
the accordion distinctly floating about inside the cage with 
no visible support. This was repeated a second time, after 
a short interval. Mr. Home presently re-inserted his hand 
in the cage and again took hold of the accordion. It then 
commenced to play, at first chords and runs, and aftenvards 
a well-known sweet and plaintive melody, which it executed 
perfectly in a very beautiful manner. Whilst this tune was 
being played, I grasped Mr. Home's arm, below the elbow, 
and gently slid my hand down it until I touched the top of the 
accordion. He was not moving a muscle. His other hand 
was on the table, visible to all, and his feet were under the 
feet of those next to him. 

Having met with such striking results in the experiments 
with the accordion in the cage, we turned to the balance 
apparatus already described. Mr. Home placed the tips of 
his fingers lightly on the extreme end of the mahogany 
board which was resting on the support, whilst Dr. A. B. 
and myself sat, one on each side of it, watching for any 
effect which might be produced. Almost immediately the 
pointer of the balance was seen to descend-. After a few 
seconds it rose again. This movement was repeated 
several times, as if by successive waves of the Psychic 
Force. The end of the board was observed to oscillate 
slowly up and down during the experiment. 

Mr. Home now of his own accord took a small hand-bell 
and a little card match-box, which happened to be near, and 
placed one under each hand, to satisfy us, as he said, that 
he was not producing the downward pressure (see Fig. 3). 
The very slow oscillation of the spring balance became more 
marked, and Dr. A. B., watching the index, said that he saw 
it descend to 6|- lbs. The normal weight of the board as 
so suspended being 3 lbs., the additional dow^nward pull 
was therefore 3J lbs. On looking immediately afterwards 
at the automatic register, we saw that the index had at 



of a New Force. 



IS 



one time descended as low as 9 lbs., showing a maximum 
pull of 6 lbs. upon a board whose normal weight was 3 lbs. 

In order to see whether it was possible to produce much 
effect on the spring balance by pressure at the place where 
Mr. Home's fingers had been, I stepped upon the table and 
stood on one foot at the end of the board. Dr. A. B., who was 
observing the index of the balance, said that the whole weight 
of my body (140 lbs.) so applied only sunk the index i\ lbs., 
or 2 lbs. when I jerked up and down. Mr. Home had been 
sitting in a low easy-chair, and could not, therefore, had he 
tried his utmost, have exerted any material influence on 
these results. I need scarcely add that his feet as well as 
his hands were closely guarded by all in the room. 

This experiment appears to me more striking, if possible, 
than the one with the accordion. As will be seen on 
referring to the cut (Fig. 3), the board was arranged per- 
fectly horizontally, and it was particularly noticed that Mr. 

Fig. 7.. 




H ome's fingers were not at any time advanced more than 
\\ inches from the extreme end, as shown by a pencil-mark, 
which, with Dr. A. B.'s acquiescence, I made at the time. 
Now, the wooden foot being also \\ inches wide, and resting 
flat on the table, it is evident that no amount of pressure 
exerted within this space of ij inches could produce any 
action on the balance. Again, it is also evident that when 
the end furthest from Mr. Home sank, the board would turn on 
the further edge of this foot as on a fulcrum. The arrange- 



f 



1 6 Experimental Investigation 

ment was consequently that of a see-saw, 36 inches in length, 
the fulcrum being i J inches from one end; were he therefore 
to have exerted a downward pressure, it would have been in 
opposition to the force which was causing the other end of 
the board to move down. 

The slight downward pressure shown by the balance when 
I stood on the board was owing probably to my foot extend- 
ing beyond this fulcrum. 

I have now given a plain unvarnished statement of the facts 
from copious notes written at the time the occurrences were 
taking place, and copied out in full immediately after. Indeed, 
it would be fatal to the object I have in view — that of urging 
the scientific investigation of these phenomena — were I to 
exaggerate ever so little; for although to my readers Dr. 
A. B. is at present represented by incorporeal initials, to 
me the letters represent a power in the scientific world that 
would certainly convict me if I were to prove an untrust- 
worthy narrator. 

I confess I am surprised and pained at the timidity or 
apathy shown by scientific men in reference to this subject. 
Some little time ago, when an opportunity for examination 
was first presented to me, I invited the co-operation of 
some scientific friends in a systematic investigation; but I 
soon found that to obtain a scientific committee for the in- 
vestigation of this class of facts was out of the question, and 
that I must be content to rely on my own endeavours, aided 
by the co-operation from time to time of a few scientific 
and learned friends who were willing to join in the inquiry. 
I still feel that it would be better were such a committee 
of known men to be formed, who would meet Mr. 
Home in a fair and unbiased manner, and I would gladly 
assist in its formation ; but the difficulties in the way are 
great. 

A committee of scientific men met Mr. Home some 
months ago at St. Petersburg. They had one meeting 
only, which was attended with negative results ; and on the 
strength of this they published a report highly unfavour- 
able to Mr. Home. The explanation of this failure, which 
is all they have accused him of, appears to me quite simple. 
Whatever the nature of Mr. Home's power, it is very 
variable, and at times entirely absent. It is obvious that 
the Russian experiment was tried when the force was at a 
minimum. The same thing has frequently happened within 
my own experience. A party of scientific men met Mr. Home 
at my house, and the results were as negative as those at 
St. Petersburg. Instead, however, of throwing up the 



of a New Force. ly 

inquiry we patiently repeated the trial a second and a third 
time, when we met with results which were positive. 

These conclusions have not been arrived at hastily or 
on insufficient evidence. Although space will allow only 
the publication of the details of one trial, it must be 
clearly understood that for some time past I have been 
making similar experiments and with like results. The 
meeting on the occasion here described was for the purpose 
of confirming previous observations by the application of 
crucial tests, with carefully arranged apparatus, and in the 
presence of irreproachable witnesses. 

Respecting the cause of these phenomena, the nature 
of the force to which, to avoid periphrasis, I have ventured 
to give the name of Psychic^ and the correlation existing 
between that and the other forces of nature, it would be 
wrong to hazard the most vague hypothesis. Indeed, in 
enquiries connected so intimately with rare physiological 
and psychological conditions, it is the duty of the enquirer 
to abstain altogether from framing theories until he has 
accumulated a sufficient number of facts to form a substantial 
basis upon which to reason. In the presence of strange 
phenomena as yet unexplored and unexplained following 
each other in such rapid succession, I confess it is difficult 
to avoid clothing their record in language of a sensational 
character. But, to be successful, an inquiry of this kind 
must be undertaken by the philosopher without prejudice 
and without sentiment. Romantic and superstitious ideas 
should be entirely banished, and the steps of his investi- 
gation should be guided by intellect as cold and passionless 
as the instruments he uses. Having once satisfied himself 
that he is on the track of a new truth, that single object 
should animate him to pursue it, without regarding whether 
the facts wich occur before his eyes are " naturally possible 
or impossible." 



Since this article was in type, the Author has been 
favoured with the following letters from Dr. Huggins and 
Mr. Sergeant Cox — the Dr. A. B. and Sergeant C. D. therein 
referred to: — 

Upper Tulse Hill, S.W., 

June 9, 1 87 1. 

Dear Mr. Crookes, — ^Your proof appears to me to con- 
tain a correct statement of what took place in my presence 
at your house. My position at the table did not permit me to 

B 



1 8 Experimental Investigation 

be a witness to the withdrawal of Mr. Home's hand from 
the accordion, but such was stated to be the case at the 
time by yourself and by the person sitting on the other side 
of Mr. Home. 

The experiments appear to me to show the importance of 
further investigation, but I wish it to be understood that I 
express no opinion as to the cause of the phenomena which 
took place. Yours very truly, 

William Huggins. 

Wm. Crookes, Esq, F.R.S. 



36, Russell Square, 

June 8, 1 87 1. 

My Dear Sir, — Having been present, for the purpose of 
scrutiny, at the trial of the experiments reported in this 
paper, I readily bear my testimony to the perfect accuracy 
of your description of them, and to the care and caution 
with which the various crucial tests were applied. 

The results appear to me conclusively to establish the 
important fact, that there is a force proceeding from the 
nerve-system capable of imparting motion and weight to 
solid bodies within the sphere of its influence. 

I noticed that the force was exhibited in tremulous 
pulsations, and not in the form of steady continuous 
pressure, the indicator rising and falling incessantly 
throughout the experiment. This fact seems to me of great 
significance, as tending to confirm the opinion that assigns 
its source to the nerve organisation, and it goes far to 
establish Dr. Richardson's important discovery of a nerve 
atmosphere of various intensity enveloping the human 
structure. 

Your experiments completely confirm the conclusion at 
which the Investigation Committee of the Dialectical 
Society arrived, after more than forty meetings for trial and 
test. 

Allow me to add that I can find no evidence even tending 
to prove that this force is other than a force proceeding 
from, or directly dependent upon, the human organisation, 
and therefore, like all other forces of nature, wholly within 
the province of that strictly scientific investigation to which 
you have been the first to subject it. 

Psychology is a branch of science as yet almost entirely 
unexplored, and to the neglect of it is probably to be attri- 
buted the seemingly strange fact that the existence of this| 
nerve-force should have remained so long untested, un- 
examined, and almost unrecognised. 



of a New Force. 19 

Now that it is proved by mechanical tests to be a fact in 
nature (and if a fact, it is impossible to exaggerate its im- 
portance to physiology and the Hght it must throw upon the 
obscure laws of life, of mind and the science of medicine) 
it cannot fail to command the immediate and most earnest 
examination and discussion by physiologists and by all 
who take an interest in that knowledge of "man," which 
has been truly termed "the noblest study of mankind." 
To avoid the appearance of any foregone conclusion, I would 
recommend the adoption for it of some appropriate name, 
and I venture to suggest that the force be termed the Psychic 
Force; the persons in whom it is manifested in extraordinary 
power Psychics; and the science relating to it Psychism as, 
being a branch of Psychology. 

Permit me, also, to propose the early formation of a 
Psychological Society^ purposely for the promotion, by means 
of experiment, papers, and discussion, of the study of that 
hitherto neglected Science. — I am, &c., 

Edwd. Wm. Cox. 
To W. Crookes, Esq., F.R.S. 



[From the "Quarterly Journal of Science," October i, 187 1. 



SOME FURTHER EXPERIMENTS ON 
PSYCHIC FORCE. 

" I am attacked by two very opposite sects — the scientists and the know-nothings. Both 
laugh at me— calling me ' the frogs' dancing master.' Yet I know that I have discovered 
one of the greatest forces in nature."— Galvani. 

IT was my intention to have allowed a longer time to 
elapse before again writing on the subject of " Psychic 
Force" in this journal. My reason for this resolve was not 
so much owing to want of new matter and fresh results, — 
on the contrary, I have much that is new in the way of ex- 
perimental evidence in support of my previous conclusions, — 
but I felt some reluctance to impose on the readers of the 
" Quarterly Journal of Science" a subject which they might 
view with little favour. When the editor of a scientific jour- 
nal is also an experimental investigator, or a student of any 
special branch of knowledge, there is a natural tendency on 
his part to unduly exalt the importance of that which is 
occupying his thoughts at the time; and thus the journal 
which he conducts is in danger of losing breadth of basis, 
of becoming the advocate of certain opinions, or of being 
coloured by special modes of thought. 

The manner in which the experimental investigation 
described in the last "Quarterly Journal" has been 
received, removes any doubt I might entertain on this 
score. The very numerous communications which have 
been addressed to the office of this journal show that 
another paper on the same subject will not be distasteful 
to a large number of those who did me the honour to read 
my former article ; whilst it appears to be generally assumed 
that I should take an early opportunity to reply to some 
of the criticisms provoked by the remarkable character of 
the experimental results which I described. 

Many of the objections made to my former experiments 
are answered by the series about to be related. Most of 
the criticisms to which I have been subjected have been 
perfectly fair and courteous, and these I shall endeavour to 
meet in the fullest possible manner. Some critics, however, 
have fallen into the error of regarding me as an advocate 
for certain opiftions, which they choose to ascribe to me, 
though in truth my single purpose has been to state fairly 
and to offer no opinion. Having evolved men of straw from 
their own imagination, they proceed vigorously to slay them. 



22 Further Experiments 

under the impression that they are annihilating me. Others, 
— and I am glad to say they are very few, — have gone 
so far as to question my veracity: — "Mr. Crookes must 
get better witnesses before he can be believed ! " Accustomed 
as I am to have my word believed without witnesses, this is 
an argument which I cannot condescend to answer. All 
who know me and read my articles will, I hope, take it 
for granted that ^^ facts I lay before them are correct, and 
that the experiments were honestly performed, with the 
single object of eliciting the truth. 

It is edifying to compare some of the present criticisms 
with those that were written twelve months ago. When I 
first stated in this journal that I was about to investigate 
the phenomena of so-called spiritualism, the announcement 
called forth universal expressions of approval. One said 
that my "statements deserved respectful consideration;" 
another, expressed "profound satisfaction that the subject 
was about to be investigated by a man so thoroughly quali- 
fied as," &c.; a third was "gratified to learn that the 
matter is now receiving the attention of cool and clear- 
headed men of recognised position in science;" a fourth as- 
serted that no one could doubt Mr. Crookes's ability to 
conduct the investigation with rigid philosophical imparti- 
ality ;" and a fifth was good enough to tell its readers that 
" if men like Mr. Crookes grapple with the subject, taking 
nothing for granted until it is proved, we shall soon know 
how much to believe." 

These remarks, however, were written too hastily. It was 
taken for granted by the writers that the results of my ex- 
periments would be in accordance with their preconceptions. 
What they really desired was not the truth, but an additional 
witness in favour of their own foregone conclusion. When 
they found that the facts which that investigation established 
could ■ not be made to fit those opinions, why, — " so much 
the worse for the facts." They try to creep out of their 
own confident recommendations of the enquiry by declaring 
that " Mr. Home is a clever conjurer, who has duped us all." 
" Mr. Crookes might, with equal propriety, examine the per- 
formances of an Indian juggler." " Mr. Crookes must get 
better witnesses before he can be believed," " The thing is 
too absurd to be treated seriously." " It is impossible, and 
therefore can't be."* " The observers have all been biolo- 
gised (!) and fancy they saw things occur which really never 
took place," &c., &c. 

* The quotation occurs to me — "I never said it was possible, I only said it 
was true." 



on Psychic Force. 23 

These remarks imply a curious oblivion of the very func- 
tions which the scientific enquirer has to fulfil. I am 
scarcely surprised when the objectors say that I have been 
deceived merely because they are unconvinced without per- 
sonal investigation, since the same unscientific course of 
a priori argument has been opposed to all great discoveries. 
When I am told that what I describe cannot be explained in 
accordance with preconceived ideas of the laws of nature, 
the objector really begs the very question at issue and resorts 
to a mode of reasoning which brings science to a standstill. 
The argument runs in a vicious circle: we must not assert 
a fact till we know that it is in accordance with the laws of 
nature, while our only knowledge of the laws of nature must 
be based on an extensive observation of facts. If a new fact 
seems to oppose what is called a law of nature, it does not 
prove the asserted fact to be false, but only that we have 
not yet ascertained all the laws of nature, or not learned 
them correctly. 

In his opening address before the British Association at 
Edinburgh this year. Sir William Thomson said, " Science 
is bound by the everlasting law of honour to face fearlessly 
every problem which can fairly be presented to it." My 
object in thus placing on record the results of a very 
remarkable series of experiments is to present such a prob- 
lem, which, according to Sir William Thomson, " Science is 
bound by the everlasting law of honour to face fearlessly." 
It will not do merely to deny its existence, or try to 
sneer it down. Remember, I hazard no hypothesis or 
theory whatever ; I merely vouch for certain facts, my only 
object being; — the truth. Doubt, but do not deny ; point 
out, by the severest criticism, what are considered falla- 
cies in my experimental tests, and suggest more conclusive 
trials ; but do not let us hastily call our senses lying wit- 
nesses merely because they testify against preconceptions. 
I say to my critics, Try the experiments ; investigate with 
care and patience as I have done. If, having examined, 
you discover imposture or delusion, proclaim it and say 
how it was done. But, if you find it be a fact, avow it fear- 
lessly, as " by the everlasting law of honour" you are bound 
to do. 

I may at once answer one objection which has been made 
in several quarters, viz., that my results would carry more 
weight had they been tried a greater number of times, and 
with other persons besides Mr. Home. The fact is, I have 
been working at the subject for two years, and have found 
nine or ten different persons who possess psychic power in 



24 Further Experiments 

more or less degree ; but its development in Mr. D. D. Home 
is so powerful, that, having satisfied myself by careful experi- 
ments that the phenomena observed were genuine, I have, 
merely as a matter of convenience, carried on my experi- 
ments with him, in preference to working with others in 
whom the power existed in a less striking degree. Most of 
the experiments I am about to describe, however, have been 
tried with another person other than Mr. Home, and in his 
absence. 

Before proceeding to relate my new experiments, I desire 
to say a few words respecting those already described. The 
objection has been raised that announcements of such mag- 
nitude should not be made on the strength of one or two ex- 
periments hastily performed. I reply that the conclusions 
were not arrived at hastily, nor on the results of two or three 
experiments only. In my former paper (" Quarterly Journal 
of Science," page 340), I remarked : — " Not until I had wit- 
nessed these facts some half-dozen times, and scrutinised 
them with all the critical acumen I possess, did I become con- 
vinced of their objective reality." Before fitting up special 
apparatus for these experiments, I had seen on five separate 
occasions, objects varying in weight from 25 to 100 lbs., 
temporarily influenced in such a manner, that I, and others 
present could with difficulty lift them from the floor 
Wishing to ascertain whether this was a physical fact, 
or merely due to a variation in the power of our own 
strength under the influence of imagination, I tested with 
a weighing machine the phenomenon on two subsequent 
occasions when I had an opportunity of meeting Mr. Home 
at the house of a friend. On the first occasion, the increase 
of weight was from 8 lbs. normally, to 36 lbs., 48 lbs., 
and 46 lbs., in three successive experiments tried under 
strict scrutiny. On the second occasion, tried about a 
fortnight after, in the presence of other observers, I found 
the increase of weight to be from 8 lbs. to 23 lbs., 43 lbs., 
and 27 lbs., in three successive trials, varying the condi- 
tions. As I had the entire management of the above- 
mentioned experimental trials, employed an instrument of 
great accuracy, and took every care to exclude the possi- 
bility of the results being influenced by trickery, I was not 
unprepared for a satisfactory result when the fact was pro- 
perly tested in my own laboratory. The meeting on the 
occasion formerly described was, therefore, for the purpose 
of confirming my previous observations by the application 
of crucial tests, with carefully arranged apparatus of a still 
more delicate nature. 



on Psychic Force. 25 

That this is a legitimate subject for scientific inquiry 
scarcely needs assertion. Faraday himself did not consider 
it beneath his dignity to examine similar phenomena; 
and, in a letter to Sir Emerson Tennent, written in 
1 86 1 on the occasion of a proposed experimental inquiry all 
into the phenomena occurring in Mr. Home's presence, he 
wrote : — " Is he (Mr. Home) willing to investigate as a 
philosopher, and, as such, to have no concealments, no 
darkness, to be open in communication, and to aid inquiry 
all that he can .? . . . Does he consider the effects natural 
or supernatural.'* If they be the glimpses of natural action 
not yet reduced to law, ought it not to be the duty of every- 
one who has the least influence in such actions personally 
to develope them, and to aid others in their development, 
by the utmost openness and assistance, and by the applica- 
tion of every critical method, either mental or experimental, 
which the mind of man can devise.?" 

If circumstances had not prevented Faraday from meeting 
Mr. Home, I have no doubt he would have witnessed pheno- 
mena similar to those I am about to describe, and he could 
not have failed to see that they offered "glimpses of natural 
action not yet reduced to law." 

I have already alluded to the publication of the ill-success 
encountered by the members of the St. Petersburg Com- 
mittee. Had the results been satisfactory, it must be fairly 
assumed that the members would have been equally ready 
to publish a report of their success. 

I am informed by my friend Professor Boutlerow,* that 
during the last winter, he tried almost the same experiments 
as those here detailed, and with still moie striking results. 
The normal tension on the dynamometer being 100 lbs., it 
was increased to about 150 lbs., Mr. Home's hands being 
placed in contact with the apparatus in such a manner that 
any exertion of power on his part would diminish, instead 
of increase, the tension. 

In 1854, Count Agenor de Gasparin published a book,*!* 
giving full details of a large series of physical experiments 
which he had tried with some private friends in whom 
this force was found to be strongly developed. His experi 
ments were very numerous and were carried on under the 
strictest test conditions. The fact of motion of heavy bodies 
without mechanical contact was demonstrated over and over 

* Professor of Chemistry at the University of St. Petersburg ; author of a 
work on Chemistry, entitled "Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie ;" Leipzig 
1868. 

t Science z/^-jwj Spiritualism. Paris, 1854. New York, 1857. 



26 Further Experiments 

again. Careful experiments were made to measure the 
force both of gravitation and of levitation thus communi- 
cated to the substances under trial, and an ingenious plan 
was adopted by which Count de Gasparin was enabled to 
obtain a rough numerical estimate of the power of the 
psychic force in each individual. The author finally arrived 
at the conclusion that all these phenomena are to be 
accounted for by the action of natural causes, and do not 
require the supposition of miracles nor the intervention of 
spirits or diabolical influences. He considers it as a fact 
fully established by his experiments, that the will, in certain 
states of the organism, can act at a distance on inert matter, 
and most of his work is devoted to ascertaining the laws and 
conditions under which this action manifests itself 

In 1855, M. Thury, a Professor at the Academy of 
Geneva, published a work,* in which he passed in review 
Count de Gasparin's experiments, and entered into full 
details of researches he had been simultaneously carrying 
on. Here, also, the trials were made with private friends, 
and were conducted with all the care which a scientific man 
could bring to bear on the subject. Space will not allow me 
to quote the valuable numerical results obtained by 
M. Thury, but from the following headings of some of his 
chapters, it will be seen that the enquiry was not conducted 
superficially: — Facts which Establish the Reality of the 
New Phenomenon ; Mechanical Action rendered Impossible; 
Movements effected without Contact; The Causes ; Condi- 
tions requisite for the Production and Action of the Force; 
Conditions for the Action with Respect to the Operators; 
The Will; Is a Plurality of Operators Necessary.? Pre- 
liminary Requisites; Mental Condition of the Operators; 
Meteorological Conditions; Conditions with Respect to the 
Instruments Operated upon; Conditions relative to the 
Mode of Action of the Operators on the Instruments; 
Action of Substances interposed; Production and Trans- 
mission of the Force; Examination of the Assigned 
Causes ; Fraud ; Unconscious Muscular Action produced in 
a particular Nervous State; Electricity; Nervo-magnetism; 
M. de Gasparin's Theory of a Special Fluid ; General Ques- 
tion as to the Action of Mind on Matter, ist Proposition ; In 
the ordinary conditions of the body the will only acts directly 
within the sphere of the organism. 2nd Proposition ; 
Within the organism itself there are a series of mediate 
acts. 3rd Proposition : The substance on which the mind 

* Geneva; Librairie Allemande de J. Kessmann, 1855. 



on Psychic Force. 27 

acts directly — ihcpsychodc — is onlysusceptible of very simple 
modification under the influence of the mind; Explanations 
which are based on the Intervention of Spirits. M. Thury 
refutes all these explanations, and considers the effects due 
to a peculiar substance, fluid, or agent, pervading, in a 
manner similar to the luminiferous ether of the scientist, 
all matter, nervous, organic, or inorganic — which he terms 
psychode. He enters into full discussion as to the properties 
of this state or form of matter, and proposes the term 
ectenic force (iKTevLa^ extension), for the power exerted when 
the mind acts at a distance through the influence of the 
psychode.* 

There is likewise another case on record in which similar 
test experiments were tried, with like results, by a tho- 
roughly competent observer. The late Dr. Robert Hare, in 
one of his works,*]* gives an engraving of an apparatus very 
similar to my own, by which the young man with whom 
he was experimenting was prevented from having any other 
communication with the apparatus except through water; 
yet, under these circumstances, the spring balance indicated 
the exertion of a force equal to 18 lbs. The details of this 
experiment were communicated by Dr. Hare, to the Ameri- 
can Association for the Advancement of Science, at the 
meeting in August, 1855. 

The references I now give afford an answer to the state- 
ment that these results must be verified by others. They 
have been verified over and over again. Indeed, my own 
experiments may be regarded merely as verifications of 
results already obtained and published by eminent scientific 
men in this and other countries. J 

But I was not content with this. I felt that having the 
opportunity of showing these phenomena to others, I might 

* Professor Thury's ect.enic and my psychic foice are evidently equivalent 
terms. Had I seen his vi^ork three months ago I shoiild have adopted his 
term. The suggestion of a similar hypothetical nervous fluid has now reached 
us from another and totally different source, expounded with distinct views, 
and couched in the language of one of the most important professions — I allude 
to the theory of a nervous atmosphere advanced by Dr. Benjamin W. Richard- 
son, M.D., F.R.S., in the "Medical Times," No. 1088, May 6, 1871. 

t "Experimental Investigation;" By Robert Hare, M.D., Emeritus Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania, &c. New York: 
Partridge and Britton, 1858. 

t The Report of the Dialectical Society on Spiritualism will appear in a 
few days, and it will be seen that the Investigation Committee, though com- 
mencing their experiments with the entire conviction that they should expose 
an imposture, have ended by affirming that they are convinced of the existence 
of a force emanating from the human organisation, by which motion may be 
imparted to heavy substances, and audible sounds made on solid bodies without 
muscular contact ; they also state that this force is often directed by some iu- 
telligence. 



28 Further Experiments. , 

at a future time be blamed did I not, once for all, take 
the very best means of bringing them before the notice of 
the scientific world. Accordingly I forwarded an account of 
my experiments to the Royal Society on June 15, 1871, and 
addressed myself to the two secretaries of the Royal Society, 
Professor Sharpey and Professor Stokes, inviting them to 
my house to meet Mr. Home, at the same time asking them 
to be prepared for negative results, and to come a second, 
or, if necessary, a third time, before forming a judgment. 
V Dr. Sharpey politely declined the invitation. 

Professor Stokes replied that he thought there was a 
fallacy in my apparatus, and concluded by saying — 

"The facts you mentioned in the paper were certainly at first sight very 
strange, but still possible modes of explanation occurred to me which weie 
not precluded by what I read in the paper. If I have time when I go to 
London I will endeavour to call at your house. I don't want to meet anyone ; 
my object being to scrutinise the apparatus, not to witness the effects." 

To this I replied on June 20th ; the following extracts 
are taken from my answer: — 

' ' I am now fitting up apparatus in which contact is made through water 
only, in such a way that transmission of mechanical movement to the board 
is impossible ; and I am also arranging an experiment in which Mr. Home 
will not touch the apparatus at all. This will only work when the power is 
very strong ; but last night I tried an experiment of this kind, and obtained a 
considerable increase of tension on the spring balance when Mr. Home's 
hands were three inches off. With him the power is so great that I can work 
with large and crude materials, and measure the force in pounds. But I 
propose to make a delicate apparatus, with a mirror and reflected ray of light, 
to show fractions of grains. Then I hope to find this force is not confined to 
a few, but is, like the magnetic state, universal. The subject shall have a 
'most scrupulously searching physical scrutiny,' and whatever results I obtain 
shall be published. I consider it my duty to send first to the Royal Society, 
for by so doing I deliberately stake my reputation on the truth of what I send. 
But will the Society (or the Committee*) accept my facts as facts, or will they 
require vouchers for my integrity? If my statements of fact are taken as 
correct, and only my interpretation or arrangements of apparatus objected to, 
then it would seem to be right to give me an opportunity of answering these 
objections before finally deciding. The other supposition — that my facts are 
incorrect — I cannot admit the discussion of till I am definitely assured that 
such is entertained. 

"Mr. Home is coming here on Wednesday and Friday evenings : if you can 
come on either or both occasions at 8 p.m., I shall be glad to see you, or if you 
only wish to scrutinise the apparatus, I will be here at any time you like to 
name." 

On the 28th of June another paper was sent to the Royal 
Society. Two days after, Professor Stokes wrote a letter, 
from which I quote: — 

"As I was otherwise engaged so as not to be able conveniently to goto 
your house, I may as well mention the possible sources of error which occurred 
to me with reference to your first apparatus. I don't suppose they all exist; 

* Alluding to a rumoured rejection of my paper by the Committee of the 
Royal Society. 



on Psychic Force. 



29 



but it is evidently, as you yourself would freely admit, for the assertor of a 
new force to remove all sources of reasonable objection. 

"The breadth of the foot of the board was, I think, i\ox 1 inches, and the 
bell placed on it was, perhaps, 2 or 3 inches broad. (1 can't carry the exact 
figures in my head. ) Join the left edge* of the top of the bell, a, with the right 
hand edge, b, of the base of the bell, and let ^/ be the joining line. Then we 
may suppose the fingers to have pressed in any direction short of the limiting 
line ef. Also as the board was rigid, the fulcrum for aught we know may 
have been at c. From c let fall a perpendicular c m oxi the line ef. Then the 
pressure of the finger may have acted at the distance, c m, from the fulcrum. 
Also, as the base lay flat on the table and both were rigid, for aught we know, 
an infinitesimal, and therefore imperceptible, tilt communicated to the table 
at the time of trying the experiment may have shifted the fulcrum from the 
edge d to the edge c, so that the weight of the hand may have acted by an 
arm longer than before by c d, which would have contributed to the result. 

**In your second paper the uncertainty as to the broad bearing is removed. 
But when the hand was dipped into the water the pressure on the base of the 
glass vessel (after a little time if the connecting hole be narrow) is increased 
by the weight of the water displaced, and that would of course depress the 
balance. 

"I don't think much of mere tremors, for it would require very elaborate 
appliances to prove that they were not due to a passing train or omnibus 

or to a tremor in the body of one of the company 

What do you wish to be done with the papers !" 

To this I replied as follows, on July ist: — 

"In your letter of the 30th ult., just received, you are quite right in saying 
that I would freely admit that 'the assertor of a new force should remove all 
sources of reasonable objection.' In your previous letter of the 19th of June, 
you write with equal fairness, that 'your opinion is that you (the R. S.) ought 
not to refuse to admit evidence of the existence of a hitherto unsuspected 

Fig. I (half scale). 




force; but that before printing anything on such a subject, you ought to 
require a most scrupulously searching physical scrutiny of the evidence adduced 
in favour of the existence of such a force.' 



* The diagram referred to here is shown, drawn to scale, in my answer 
further on. The experiment under discussion is the one figured and described 
in the last number of the "Quarterly Journal of Science," page 345. 



30 Further Experiments 

' ' You have now been good enough to explain to me in detail what the 
fallacy is which you think exists in my first experiments, and what you con- 
sider to be the possible sources of error in my subsequent trials. 

" On re-drawing the diagram you give in your letter, Fig. I, to the full size, 
supplying the deficient data, viz., the position of the shoulder, a, and the 
point, b, your line c m appears to be about 2 "9 inches long ; and, as' you assume 
that the fulcrum shall be at c, the lever becomes one of the third order, the 
two forces acting respectively at p — 2.'^ inches, and at f =36 inches from c. 
What power, P, must be exerted at / to overcome a resistance or weight, Q, 
of 6 lbs. at the end of the lever, q ? 

Hence, P + 2-9 = Q + 36. 
.-. P = 74-5lbs. 

therefore, it would have required a force of 74*5 lbs. to have been exerted by 
Mr. Home to have produced the results, even if all your suppositions are 
granted ; and, considering that he was sitting in a low easy chair, and four 
pairs of sharp, suspicious eyes were watching to see that he exerted no force 
at all, but kept the tips of his fingers lightly on the instrument, it is sufficiently 
evident that an exertion of this pressure was impossible. A few poimds 
vertical pressure was all he could have effected. 

" Again, you are not justified in assuming that the fiilcrum was at c. 
Granting that ' an infinitesimal and therefore imperceptible tilt ' might, at the 
very first movement, have thrown it from d to c, it is evident that the move- 
ment would at once throw it forward again from c to d. To have failed to 
have done so, the tilt must have been so obvious as to have been detected at 
once. 

" But, as I said in my last paper, I prefer to appeal to new experiments 
rather than argue about old ones, and hence my employment of the water for 
transmitting the force. The depth of water in the copper hemisphere was 
only i\ inches, whilst the glass vessel was 9 inches in diameter.* I have just 
tried the experiment of immersing my hand to the very utmost in the copper 
vessel (Mr. Home only dipped in the tips of his fingers) and the rise of 
the level of the water is not sufficient to produce any movement whatever on 
the index of the balance, the friction of the apparatus being enough to absorb 
the ounce or two thus added to the weight. In my more delicate apparatus, 
this increase of hydrostatic pressure produces a decided movement of the spot 
of light, but this difficulty I shall overcome by placing the water vessel over 
the fulcrum, or on the short side of it. 

" You say 'you don't think much of mere tremors,' as if in the other experi- 
ments described in my second paper the movements of the apparatus were 
only of this kind. This is not the case ; the quivering of the apparatus always 
took place before the index moved, and the upward and downward motion of 
the board and index was of a very slow and deUberate character, occupying 
several seconds for each rise and fall ; a tremor produced by passing vehicles 
is a very different thing from a steady vertical puU of from 4 to 8 lbs., lasting 
for several seconds. 

'' You say the session is now over, and ask what I wish to be done with the 
papers. 

*' Three years ago (June 27th, 1868), I sent a paper to the Society, * On the 
Measurement of the Luminous Intensity of Light,' just after the session 
closed. It was not read till December 17th. My wish would be for a similar 
course to be adopted in the present instance, although I am scarcely sanguine 
enough to expect that so much notice will be taken of these communications. 
So many scientific men are now examining into these strange phenomena 
(including many Fellows of the Society), that it cannot be many years before 
the subject will be brought before the scientific world in a way that will 
enforce attention. I confess that, in sending in these papers to the Society, I 
have been actuated more by the desire of being the first scientific experimenter 

* For a description of this apparatus, see p. 484. 



on Psychic Force. 31 

who has ventured to take such a course, than by any particular desire that they 
should meet with immediate attention. I owe to the Society the first intima- 
tion of important scientific results, and these I shall continue to send, ^ pour 
prendre date, ' if for no other reason. " 

"The Spectator" of July 22nd contained an editorial 
note, in which it is asserted that my paper was declined by 
the committee: — 

"The Royal Society, they say, was quite open to communications advo- 
cating the existence of a force in nature as yet unknown, if such commu- 
nications contained scientific evidence adequate to establish its probability; 
but that, looking to the inherent improbability of the case as stated by Mr. 
Crookes, and the entire want of scientific precision in the evidence adduced by 
him, the paper was not regarded as one deserving the attention of the Royal 
Society." 

This paragraph not only states that my papers were 
declined, but proceeds to state the grounds of their rejec- 
tion. The fact is, that a quorum of the committee of papers 
not having been present, the question was deferred to the next 
session in November, and on inquiry at Burlington House, 
I am informed by the Assistant-Secretary of the Royal 
Society that my papers, with others, are still awaiting the 
decision of the committee. Consequently the statement of 
a rejection was not only premature, but purely imaginary. 

It appears, however, that there were some grounds for 
this statement, for in "The Spectator" of July 29th, 1871, 
the editor replies as follows : — 

' ' Our note was not founded on any mere rumour. The words we used con- 
tained an exact copy of the words conveyed to us as used, not, as we 
inadvertently stated by the committee, but by one of the secretaries, Professor 
Stokes, who in the absence of a quorum, exercised pro tempore the usual dis- 
cretionaiy authority in regard to papers offered." 

I am unable to explain how it is that Professor Stokes's 
statements to me and to the editor of "The Spectator" 
bear so different an interpretation, or why a weekly news- 
paper was chosen for first conveying to me a decision of the 
committee of papers of the Royal Society. 

At the urgent request of gentlemen on the committee of 
section A, I communicated a paper consisting of about 
sixteen closely-written pages to the British Association, 
in which I recounted some of the experiments described 
in the present paper. Section A referred the paper to a 
committee to decide whether it should be read. Professor 
Stokes afterwards handed to me the following document : — 

^^ Report on Mr. Crookes' s Paper. 

August 7,- 1 87 1. 

"The paper having been placed in my hands about ten o'clock, and a 
decision wanted in writing by a quarter to eleven, I have been obliged to be 
hasty. 

"The subject seems to be investigated in a philosophical spirit, and I do not 



32 Further Experiments 

see the explanation of the result of the first class of experiments, while at 
the same time I am not prepared to give in my adhesion without a thorough 
sifting by more individuals than one. I don't see much use discussing the 
thing in the sections, crowded as we already are; but if a small number of 
persons in whom the public would feel confidence choose to volunteer to act 
as members of a committee for investigating the subject, I don't see any 
objection to appointing such committee. I have heard too much of the tricks 
of Spiritualists to make me willmg to give my time to such a committee 
myself. 

"G. G. Stokes.'' 

Whilst I cannot but regret that a physicist of such 
eminence as Professor Stokes should "be hasty," in 
deciding on the merits of a paper which it is physically 
impossible he could have even once read through, I am 
glad to find that he no longer continues to speak of the 
" entire want of scientific precision in the evidence adduced" 
by me, but rather admits that "the subject seems to be in- 
vestigated in a philosophical spirit." 

In submitting these experiments, it will not seem strange 
that I should consider them final until rebutted by arguments 
also drawn from facts, and that I should seek to know on 
what grounds contra-statements are founded. Professor 
Allen Thomson, at the recent meeting of the British Associa- 
tion, remarked that no course of inquiry into the matter before 
us " can deserve the name of study or investigation." And 
why not ? On the other hand. Professor Challis, of Cam- 
bridge, writes, "In short, the testimony has been so 
abundant and consentaneous, that either the facts must be 
admitted to be such as are reported, or the possibility of cer- 
tifying facts by human testimony must be given up." It is 
certainly not too much to suppose that Dr. Thomson had 
some grounds for his statement; and, indeed, "I have," he 
owns, " been fully convinced of this (the fallacies of spiritual- 
istic demonstration) by repeated examinations;" but where 
are the results of his investigations to be found } They must 
be very conclusive to warrant him in the use of such expres- 
sions as " a few men of acknowledged reputation in some 
departments of science have surrendered their judgments to 
these foolish dreams, otherwise appearing to be within the 
bounds of sanity." If Dr. Thomson's dogmatic denial arises 
from the mere strangeness of the facts I have set forth, what 
can he think of the address of the President for this year. 
Surely the conception of a nerve-force is no more difficult than 
that " of the inner mechanism of the atom;" and again, any 
investigation, be it worthy the name or not, bearing on a 
matter in which eminent men have avowed their belief, which 
takes a leading rank among the social questions of the day, 



071 Psychic Force. 33 

and which numbers its adherents by millions, is surely as 
full of merit, and as instructive to all, as hypothetical 
inquiries into "interatomic atmospheres" and "gyrating 
interatomic atoms." Professor Huxley has observed, " If 
there is one thing clear about the progress of modern 
science, it is the tendency to reduce all scientific prob- 
lems, except those that are purely mathematical, to 
problems in molecular physics — that is to say, to attrac- 
tions, repulsions, motions, and co-ordination of the ulti- 
mate particles of matter! Yet these ultimate particles, 
molecules, or atoms, are creatures of the imagination, and 
as pure assumptions as the spirits of the spiritualist." But 
perhaps Dr. Allen Thomson's respect for mathematics is so 
great that he is blind to actuality. It does not speak well 
for modern scientific philosophy that, after the startling 
revelations of the spectroscope during the last decade, inves- 
tigations should be scouted because they pertain to an 
ulterior state of things of which at present we have little idea. 
That I have furnished no dynamic equivalent of psychic force, 
or given no formulae for the variable intensity of Mr. Home's 
power, is certainly no argument whatever against the exis- 
tence of such a force. Men thought before the syllogism was 
invented, and, strange as it may seem to some minds, force 
existed before its demonstration in mathematical formulae. 

As an answer to Professor Balfour Stewart's rather bold 
conjecture, that Mr. Home possesses great electro-biological 
power (whatever that may mean), by which he influences 
those present, I point to the curves illustrating this paper ; 
however susceptible ih.Q persons in the room might have been 
to that assumed influence, it will hardly be contended that 
Mr. Home biologised the recording instruments. 

I will not occupy more time with personal matters, or 
with explanations forced from me in self-defence against 
uncourteous commentaries based on unjust misrepresenta- 
tions ; but I will proceed to describe the experiments, most 
of which, I may remark, might have been witnessed by 
Professor Stokes and Professor Sharpey, had they accepted 
the invitations I gave them. 

On trying these experiments for the first time, I thought 
that actual contact between Mr. Home's hands and the 
suspended body whose weight was to be altered was essen- 
tial to the exhibition of the force ; but I found afterwards 
that this was not a necessary condition, and I therefore 
arranged my apparatus in the following manner : — 

The accompanying cuts (Figs. 2, 3, 4) explain the 
arrangement. Fig. 2 is a general view, and Figs. 3 and 4 

c 



34 



Further Experiments 



show the essential parts more in detail. The reference 
letters are the same in each illustration. A B is a ma- 
hogany board, 36 inches long by 9^ inches wide, and i inch 
thick. It is suspended at the end, B, by a spring balance, C, 

Fig. 2. 




furnished with an automatic register, D. The balance is 
suspended from a very firm tripod support, E. 

The following piece of apparatus is not shown in the 
figures. To the moving index, o, of the spring balance, a 

Fig. 3 




fine steel point is soldered, projecting horizontally outwards. 
In front of the balance, and firmly fastened to it, is a 



071 Psychic Force. 



35 



grooved frame carrying a flat box similar to the dark box of 
a photographic camera. This box is made to travel by 
clock-work horizontally in front of the moving index, and 
it contains a sheet of plate-glass which has been smoked 
over a flame. The projecting steel point impresses a mark 
on this smoked surface. If the balance is at rest, and the 
clock set going, the result is a perfectly straight horizontal 
line. If the clock is stopped and weights are placed on the 

Fig. 4. 




\^'\> 



end B of the board, the result is a vertical line, whose 
length depends on the weight applied. If, whilst the clock 
draws the plate along, the weight of the board (or the ten- 
sion on the balance) varies, the result is a curved line, from 
which the tension in grains at any moment during the con- 
tinuance of the experiments can be calculated. 

The instrument was capable of registering a diminution 
of the force of gravitation as well as an increase ; registra- 
tions of such a diminution were frequently obtained. To 
avoid complication, however, I will only here refer to results 
in which an increase of gravitation was experienced. 

The end B of the board being supported by the spring 
balance, the end A is supported on a wooden strip, F, 
screwed across its lower side and cut to a knife edge (see 
Fig. 4). This fulcrum rests on a firm and heavy wooden 



36 Further Experiments 

stand, G H. On the board, exactly over* the fulcrum, is 
placed a large glass vessel filled with water, I. L is a 
massive iron stand, furnished with an arm and a ring, M N, 
in which rests a hemispherical copper vessel perforated with 
several holes at the bottom. 

The iron stand is 2 inches from the board A B, and the 
arm and copper vessel, M N, are so adjusted that the 
latter dips into the water i\ inches, being 5 J inches from 
the bottom of I, and 2 inches from its circumference. 
Shaking or striking the arm M, or the vessel N, produces 
no appreciable mechanical effect on the board, A B, capable 
of affecting the balance. Dipping the hand to the fullest 
extent into the water in N does not produce the least appre- 
ciable action on the balance. 

As the mechanical transmission of power is by this means 
entirely cut off between the copper vessel and the board A B, 
the power of muscular control is thereby completely 
eliminated. 

For convenience I will divide the experiments into groups 
I, 2, 3, &c., and I have selected one special instance in 
each to describe in detail. Nothing, however, is mentioned 
which has not been repeated more than once, and in some 
cases verified, in Mr. Home's absence, with another person 
possessing similar powers. 

There was always ample light in the room where the 
experiments were conducted (my own dining-room) to see 
all that took place. 

Experiment I. — The apparatus having been properly ad- 
justed before Mr. Home entered the room, he was brought 
in, and asked to place his fingers in the water in the copper 
vessel, N. He stood up and dipped the tips of the fingers 
of his right hand in the water, his other hand and his 
feet being held. When he said he felt a power, force, or 
influence, proceeding from his hand, I set the clock going, 
and almost immediately the end B of the board was seen to 
descend slowly and remain down for about 10 seconds ; it 
then descended a little further, and afterwards rose to its 
normal height. It then descended again, rose suddenly, 
gradually sunk for 17 seconds, and finally rose to its normal 
height, where it remained till the experiment was concluded. 
The lowest point marked on the glass was equivalent to a 
direct pull of about 5000 grains. The accompanying figure 
(5) is a copy of the curve traced on the glass. 

* In my first experiments with this apparatus, referred to in Professor 
Stokes's letter and my answer (page 479), the glass vessel was not quite over 
the fulcrum, but was nearer B. 



I 



on Psychic Force. 



37 



Experhnent II. — Contact through water having proved to 
be as effectual as actual mechanical contact, I wished to see 
if the power or force coulJ affect the weight, either through 
other portions of the apparatus or through the air. The 
glass vessel and iron stand, &c., were therefore removed, 



Fig. 5. 
Scale of Seconds. 



s 10 
II I f 1 1 1 




TJie horizontal scale of seconds shows the time occupied in the movements, 
the experiment lasting one minute. The vertical scale shows the tension in 
grains exerted on the balance at any moment. 

as an unnecessary complication, and Mr. Home's hands 
were placed on the stand of the apparatus at P (Fig. 2). 
A gentleman present put his hand on Mr. Home's hands, and 
his foot on both Mr. Home's feet, and I also watched him 
closely all the time. At the proper moment the clock was 

Fig. 6. • 




In this and the two following figures the scales, both vertical and horizontal, 
are the same as in Fig. 5. 

again set going ; the board descended and rose in an irregular 
manner, the result being a curved tracing on the glass, of 
which Fig. 6 is a copy. 

Experiment III. — Mr. Home was now placed one foot 
from the board A B, on one side of it. His hands and feet 



Fig. 7. 




\J17 



were firmly grasped by a bystander, and another tracing, of 
which Fig. 7 is a copy, was taken on the moving glass plate. 



38 



Further Experiments 



Experimeiit IV. — (Tried on an occasion when the power 
was stronger than on the previous occasions). Mr. Home 
was now placed 3 feet from the apparatus, his hands and 
feet being tightly held. The clock was set going when he 
gave the word, and the end B of the board soon descended, 
and again rose in an irregular manner, as shown in Fig. 8. 

The following series of experiments were tried with more 
delicate apparatus, and with another person, a lady, Mr. 
Home being absent. As the lady is non-professional, I do 

Fig. 8. 




not mention her name. She has, however, consented to 
meet any scientific men whom I may introduce for purposes 
of investigation. 

A piece of thin parchment, A, Figs. 9 and 10, is stretched 
tightly across a circular hoop of wood. B C is a light lever 
turning on D. At the end B is a vertical needle point touching 
the membrane A, and at c is another needle point, projecting 

Fig. 9. (Plan.) 



wiki 



1 1.1 1.1 -7- 



^ 




horizontally and touching a smoked glass plate, E F. This 
glass plate is drawn along in the direction H G by clock- 
work, K. The end B of the lever is weighted so that it 
shall quickly follow the movements of the centre of the 
disc, A. These movements are transmitted and recorded 
on the glass plate E F, by means of the lever and needle 



I 



on Psychic Force. 



39 



point C. Holes are cut in the side of the hoop to allow a 
free passage of air to the under side of the membrane. The 
apparatus was well tested beforehand by myself and others, 
to see that no shaking or jar on the table or support would 
interfere with the results : the line traced by the point c 

Fig. 10. (Section.) 




on the smoked glass was perfectly straight in spite of all 
our attempts to influence the lever by shaking the stand or 
stamping on the floor. 

Experiment V. — Without having the object of the instru- 
ment explained to her, the lady was brought into the room 
and asked to place her fingers on the wooden stand at the 
points L M, Fig. 9. I then placed my hands over hers to 
enable me to detect any conscious or unconscious movement 
on her part. Presently percussive noises were heard on the 
parchment resembling the dropping of grains of sand on its 
surface. At each percussion a fragment of graphite which 
I had placed on the membrane was seen to be projected up- 
wards about I -50th of an inch, and the end c of the lever 
moved slightly up and down. Sometimes the sounds were 
as rapid as those from an induction-coil, whilst at others 
they were more than a second apart. Five or six tracings 
were taken, and in all cases a movement of the end c of the 
lever was seen to have occurred with each vibration of the 
membrane. 

In some cases the lady's hands were not so near the 
membrane as L M, but were at N o, Fig. 10. 

The accompanying Fig. II gives tracings taken from the 
plates used on these occasions. 



40 



Further Experiments 



Experiments — Having met with these results in Mr. 
Home's absence, I was anxious to see what action would be 
produced on the instrument in his presence. 

Accordingly I asked him to try, but without explaining 
the instrument to him. 



0.5 

» » I I I I 



Fig. II. 
Scale of Seconds. 

I 




I grasped Mr. Home's right arm above the wrist and held 
his hand over the membrane, about lo inches from its sur- 
face, in the position shown at p. Fig. lo. His other hand was 
held by a friend. " After remaining in this position for about 
half a minute, Mr. Home said he felt some influence passing. 
I then set the clock going, and we all saw the index, c, 
moving up and down. The movements were much slower 
than in the former case, and were almost entirely unaccom- 
panied by the percussive vibrations then noticed. 

Figs. 12 and 13 show the curves produced on the glass on 
two of these occasions. 

Figs. II, 12, 13 are magnified. 

These experiments confirm beyond doubt the conclusions 
at which I arrived in my former paper, namely, the existence 
of a force associated, in some manner not yet explained, 
with the human organisation, by which force, increased 
weight is capable of being imparted to solid bodies without 
physical contact. In the case of Mr. Home, the develop- 
ment of this force varies enormously, not only from week to 
week, but from hour to hour ; on some occasions the force 
is inappreciable by my tests for an hour or more, and then 
suddenly reappears in great strength. It is capable of 
acting at a distance from Mr. Home (not unfrequently as far 
as two or three feet), but is always strongest close to him. 

Being firmly convinced that there could be no manifesta- 
tion of one form of force without the corresponding expen- 
diture of some other form of force, I for a long time searched 



on Psychic Force. 



41 



in vain for evidence of any force or power being used up in 
the production of these results. 

Now, however, having seen more of Mr. Home, I think 
I perceive what it is that this psychic force uses up for its 
development. In employing the terms vital force, or nervous 
etiergy, I am aware that I am employing words which 
convey very different significations to many investigators ; 
but after witnessing the painful state of nervous and bodily 
prostration in which some of these experiments have left 

Fig. 12. 




Mr. Home — after seeing him lying in an almost fainting 
condition on the floor, pale and speechless — I could scarcely 
doubt that the evolution of psychic force is accompanied by 
a corresponding drain on vital force. 

I have ventured to give this new force the name of 
Psychic Force, because of its manifest relationship to certain 
psychological conditions, and because I was most desirous 
to avoid the foregone conclusions implied in the title under 

Fig. 13, 




which it has hitherto been claimed as belonging to a pro- 
vince beyond the range of experiment and argument. But 
having found that it is within the province of purely scien- 
tific research, it is entitled to be known by a scientific name, 
and I do not think a more appropriate one could have been 
selected. 

To witness exhibitions of this force it is not necessary to 
have access to known psychics. The force itself is probably 
possessed by all human beings, although the individuals 
endowed with an extraordinary amount of it are doubtless 



42 Further Experiments 

few. Within the last twelve months I have met in private 
families five or six persons possessing a sufficiently vigorous 
development to make me feel confident that similar results 
might be produced through their means to those here 
recorded, provided the experimentalist worked with more 
delicate apparatus, capable of indicating a fraction of a 
grain instead of recording pounds and ounces only. 

As far as my other occupations will permit, I purpose to 
continue the experiments in various forms, and I will report 
from time to time their results. In the meanwhile I trust 
that others will be induced to pursue the investigation in 
its scientific form. It should, however, be understood that, 
equally with all other scientific experiments, these researches 
must be conducted in strict compliance with the conditions 
under which the force is developed. As it is an indispens- 
able condition of experiments with frictional electricity that 
the atmosphere should be free from excess of moisture, and 
that no conducting medium should touch the instrument 
while the force is being generated, so certain conditions are 
found to be essential to the production and operation of the 
Psychic force, and unless these precautions are observed the 
experiments will fail. I am emphatic on this point, because 
unreasonable objections have sometimes been made to 
the Psychic Force that it is not developed under ad- 
verse conditions dictated by the experimentalist, who, 
nevertheless, would object to conditions being imposed 
upon himself in the exhibition of any of his own scientific 
results. But I may add, that the conditions required are 
very few, very reasonable, and in no way obstruct the most 
perfect observation and the application of the most rigid 
and accurate tests. 



Just before going to press I have received from my friend 
Professor Morton an advance sheet of the " Journal of the 
Franklin Institute," containing some remarks on my last 
paper by Mr. Coleman Sellers, a leading scientific engineer 
of the United States. The essence of his criticism is con- 
tained in the following quotation : — 

**0n page 341" (of the Quarterly Journal of Science) *' we have given a. 
mahogany board '36 inches long by 94 inches wide, and I inch thick,' with 
' at each end a strip of mahogany \\ inches wide screwed on, forming feet.' 
This board was so placed as to rest with one end on the table, the other 
suspended by a spring balance, and, so suspended, it _ recorded a weight_ of 
3 pounds ; i.e., a ??iahogany board of the above dimensions is shown to weigh 
6 pounds — 3 pounds on the balance and 3 pounds on the table. A mechanic 
used to handling wood wonders how this may be. He looks through his 



{ 



on Psychic Force. 43 

limited library and finds that scientific men tell him that such a board should 
weigh about 13^ pounds. Did Mr. Crookes make this board himself? or did 
Mr. Home furnish it as one of his pieces of apparatus ? .... It would 
have been more satisfactory if Mr, Crookeshad stated, in regard to this board, 
who made it. . . . Let it be discovered that the 6 pound mahogany 
board was furnished by Mr. Home and the experiments v/ill not be so con- 
vincing." 

My experiments must indeed be convincing if so accom- 
plished a mechanician as Mr. Coleman Sellers can find no 
worse fault with them than is expressed in the comments I 
have quoted. He writes in so matter-of-fact a manner, and 
deals so plausibly with dimensions and weights, that most 
persons would take it for granted that I really had com- 
mitted the egregious blunder he points out. 

Will it be believed, therefore, that my mahogany board does 
tueigh only 6 pounds? Four separate balances in my own 
house tell me so, and my greengrocer confirms the fact. 

It is easy to perceive into what errors a " mechanic" may 
fall when he relies for practical knowledge on his " limited 
library" instead of appealing to actual experiment. 

I am sorry I cannot inform Mr. Sellers who made my 
mahogany board. It has been in my possession about 
sixteen years ; it was originally cut off a length in a wood- 
yard ; it became the stand of a spectrum camera, and as 
such is described with a cut in the " Journal of the Photo- 
graphic Society" for January 21, 1856 (vol. ii., p. 293). It 
has since done temporary duty in the arrangement of vari- 
ous pieces of apparatus in my physical laboratory, and was 
selected for these particular experiments owing to its shape 
being more convenient than that of other available pieces 
of wood. 

But is it seriously expected that I should answer such a 
question as "Did Mr. Home furnish the board .''" Will not 
my critics give me credit for the possession of some amount 
of common sense } And can they not imagine that obvious 
precautions, which occur to them as soon as they sit down 
to pick holes in my experiments, are not unlikely to have 
also occurred to me in the course of prolonged and patient 
investigation .? 

The answer to this as to all other like objections is, 
Prove it to be an error by showing where the error lies, 
or, if a trick, by showing hoiv the trick is performed. Try the 
experiment fully and fairly. If then fraud be found, expose 
it ; if it be a truth, proclaim it. This is the only scientific 
procedure, and this it is that I purpose steadily to pursue. 



I 



It 



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EERS OF THE AGES : Embracing Spiritualism, Past and Present, Doc- 
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HE HISTORY OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN ALL AGES AND 
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FOOTFALLS ON TFIE BOUNDARY OF ANOTHER WORLD. By 
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THE DEBATEABLE LAND BETWEEN THIS WORLD AND THE 
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THE TWO WORLDS : The Natural and the Spiritual, their Intimate Con- 
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THE REPORT ON SPIRITUALISM OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE 
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ONCERNING SPIRITUALISM. By Gerald ^lassey. Cloth, 2s. 



LETTERS AND TRACTS ON SPIRITUALISM. By Jud.-e Edmonds. 
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